Tell the PM not to support decriminalising abortion

SPUC has launched a major nationwide petition, calling on the Prime Minister not to give any parliamentary support to moves to decriminalise abortion.

“The decriminalisation of abortion remains a major threat,” said SPUC CEO John Smeaton. “We urgently need to send a loud message to the Prime Minister not to give any parliamentary support to moves to decriminalise abortion.”

Background

In March 2017, Diana Johnson, the Labour MP for Kingston upon Hull North, brought forward her Reproductive Health (Access to Terminations) bill, which sought to remove abortion from criminal law. Although the bill had no chance of progressing, because of parliamentary time constraints, it narrowly passed.

That bill was unsuccessful, but the campaign to decriminalise abortion, spearheaded by BPAS, goes on. Major medical bodies are siding with the abortion industry, including the Royal College of Midwives, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the British Medical Association. The Royal College of Nursing is currently consulting on whether to adopt a pro-decriminalisation policy.

What would decriminalisation mean?

The petition calls on the Prime Minister not to support decriminalisation because: